The well established practice of preliminary laying out of engineering projects requiring reasonably accurate directional and vertical or depth indication in relation to the existing earth surface need hardly be recounted here, but the common procedure of driving stakes into the ground and simply tying lines directly onto the stakes, then sliding the same up and down and tilting the stakes for more accurate adjustment is conducive to error and frustrating. Certain improved methods have been proposed, the best possibly being that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,149,360 to Prout wherein the holder comprises a compound staff consisting of a handle with parallel metal bars spaced apart to accept a pivotally mounted level with a line holding hook at one end, there being no provision for adjustment other than by shifting the pivot point up or down on the metal bars, but the collapsibility of the device being noteworthy. Certain other devices, primarily for leveling ground for irrigation, have been developed with varying success. There is a need, therefore, for a line holding tool of simple, economical construction which combines multi-mode adjustment functionality in use in the mentioned field, which is safe and easy to use, and which facilitates fine adjustment after preliminary setting of the stakes.